Concerns have been raised that immediate reconstructive surgery could delay chemo or radiotherapy.

But a new study – to be presented to the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium, hosted by the charity Breast Cancer Now – found that further treatment for breast cancer was not delayed among a group of women studied.

However, researchers found that women who had immediate breast reconstruction surgery were more likely to suffer complications requiring readmission to hospital in the first six weeks after treatment.